Pendulum Theory
by OzQueene
Summary: Stacey and Robert go to the park. It's not as fun as it sounds.


**Title:** Pendulum Theory  
**Rating/Warnings:** G  
**Word count:** 799  
**Summary:** Stacey and Robert go to the park. It's not as fun as it sounds.

**Notes:** It's happened, you guys. I wrote a fic and couldn't find an appropriate prompt for it in my babysitters100 table. BUT THAT'S OKAY. This was actually written for modern_living on dreamwidth, and also fills the square for "swing" on my summer mini challenge table from luxken27.

Also, while I'm here, I want to point out the new dreamwidth community **stoneybrook** (dot dreamwidth dot org). It's just a general BSC comm - you don't have to write fic or anything - and over the next few days, we're going to start a BSC read through! It's one book a week, and there will be a chat/discussion/squee/snark post each weekend to talk about the book we've just read. We're starting with _Kristy's Great Idea_ next week. You don't need a dreamwidth account to take part - you can comment anonymously, or sign in with OpenID from another account :) I would loooove to see some of you guys there!

**Additional disclaimer:** My maths skills suck. Suuuuuck. And because this isn't beta'd, there may be mistakes. I'm sorry.

* * *

"You're a total featherweight," Robert teased, pushing Stacey as hard as he could, his breath hanging in the cold air.

Stacey gripped the chains on the swing in her hands and laughed. "So why are you so beat? Push me higher."

He grunted dramatically as he shoved her again, and she laughed again, turning her head to look at him, eyes bright. "Higher," she said.

"I push you any higher and you're going to spin right over the top," Robert said, stepping swiftly out of the way as she swung back.

She hung for a moment in the air before the swing fell forward again. "Never gonna happen," she sang as she sailed past him, the chains creaking.

"Oh really?" he asked. "You don't think I have it in me?"

"Oh, Robert," Stacey sighed dramatically. She turned her head to look at him as she raced past again, her eyes wide. "Math."

"Math," he coughed. "You're such a nerd."

"The further away I am from the equilibrium position – which is the point of being still – the slower I go," Stacey called, and she swung back again, hair flying. "I lose momentum."

"So would it help if you were heavier?" Robert joked, stepping in to touch his palm against her back again as she whooshed past.

"Really?" she asked, turning her head to look at him. "_Really_?"

"What?" he asked. "Are you mad about the featherweight thing, or the fact I suck at math?"

She was silent for a moment. "Math," she said eventually, the chains creaking as she swept past again. "Because this is so _easy._ It's not even worth thinking about, really – even if you stood on the seat behind me, the added mass definitely wouldn't get us over the top."

"So, what, you need to be lighter?" he asked, folding his arms and watching her. Even at the speed she was going, he could see her roll her eyes at him.

"You _might_ be able to get the other swing to wrap itself over the top if you started pushing it now," she said, waving a hand at the empty seat hanging on the chains beside her. "But it wouldn't look dignified. You'd need to use a lot of effort, and the chains aren't rigid enough. As soon as they reach a certain point, they're going to slacken, and the weight of the seat will pull them down again."

As she reached the top of the arc again, she let go, sailing through the air to land in the sand around the swing-set. She dusted her hands off and turned to look at him. "Don't you ever listen in class?"

"I try," Robert said, shrugging. "It's more interesting when you give the lesson, though."

"So you get it, then?" she asked, grinning back at him, her blue eyes sparkling. "I didn't even get into the proper theory of it. Pendulum motion, and Newton's second law –"

Robert groaned aloud until she trailed off. She rolled her eyes at him again.

"_Fine_," she huffed. "But it's clear which one of us is the brains in this operation, and which is merely the _eye candy_."

"Hey, I don't mind being eye candy," he murmured, catching her hand and tugging her close. "But if I kiss you, will you go into, like, diabetic shock or something?"

"Oh, jeez," Stacey muttered. She rolled her eyes again, but looped her arms up over his shoulders. "All your jokes are so bad," she whispered.

"And you talk about math," Robert whispered back, his hands on her waist. "A _lot_." He kissed the end of her nose gently. "So neither of us is perfect."

"You love it when I talk about math," Stacey said, and her tone dared him to argue. "It turns you on."

He laughed and leaned his brow against hers. "The math doesn't," he said. "I just like a girl with brains. Okay?"

She kissed him, and when she pulled back again her cheeks were pink and her eyes were bright. "Okay," she answered, and she slipped her hand into his. "I like a guy who likes a girl with brains."

"It doesn't hurt that you're also really hot," he added.

She tutted and pulled her hand away, pacing ahead of him. "You always go one too far."

He laughed and jogged after her. "I think that's Brewster's Third Law."


End file.
